And such is the case whether the rose is the one
in my back yard or a rose that once flourished in a stadium, say Pete Rose,
at one time of the Cincinnati Reds. Which brings up one of the two most
who-cares controversies in the current World of Sports.

Pete appears a likable enough guy, certainly he was a hustler on the
diamond - and it's highly rumored he was also one in the World of Gambling.
But the big question is whether he deserves to be in the Baseball Hall of
Fame at Cooperstown, N.Y., which incidentally is in close proximity to the
origin of the Susquehanna River.

Pete, who handled balls aggressively both with glove and bat, was banned
from baseball a decade ago for betting on the game as well as betting on
anything else. The evidence was overwhelming. He seems to be the only one
who considers himself innocent, and has maintained his hustle (or is it
arrogance?) in efforts to once again be a part of baseball.

Thus far, he has struck out, a big K, three swings, and he's still out.
And it probably would, or at least could, have stayed that way, had it not
been for the fans of "America's sport," who still consider him
one of the greatest athletes to walk on a diamond. And this is where it
gets sticky.

Pete at the Plate

The fans were asked to ballot for the team of the century, and Pete was
a big winner. Baseball went along with the decision of the fans in extending
an invitation for him to participate in an introduction of the players selected
for the All-Century Team.

It was in Atlanta during the World Series, and Pete Rose got the biggest
ovation of the night - of the Yankees-Braves game as well as the intros
of the Team of the Century. It might not have gone any further had not some
TV sportscaster been as aggressive with his mike as Pete was with his bat
and glove.

NBC sports announcer Jim Gray, obviously trying to make as big a name
for himself as Rose had on the diamond, relentlessly questioned Pete following
his introduction about whether he would now admit to gambling. A good question,
one we'd all like an answer to, but the wrong time, so why relentlessly
repeat it?

This once again stirred up baseball fans, who wanted no sour notes in
the melody of the extravaganza. Muddled into again was the quagmire surrounding
Pete's banishment from major league stadiums and from the Hall of Fame.

Gray's tasteless approach merits him a slot covering Little League baseball
in some 500-watt station in Idaho, but - though it did arouse more support
for Pete's enshrinement in both the Hall of Fame and possibly as manager
of a major league team - it plays no part in the bottom line.

Is Pete Rose worthy of baseball?

The I-Word

Methinks there's a basic question of the integrity - not just of baseball,
but of all sports, possibly all facets of American life - involved here.
Certainly the greatest of the great baseball players deserve recognition.
But should there not be limits to help preserve what's left of the integrity
of the game itself?

Maybe Rose should be allowed to come back to his sport as a manager hired
by Peter Angelos: They deserve each other. His tenure would be short, like
that of his predecessors, in piloting the Orioles, and once again he could
return to welcoming visitors to big-name casinos where opportunities abound
for friendly wagers.

That would handle the question of his place in baseball.

So now to the Hall of Fame.

Why not give in and acknowledge that he belongs there, then put a big
asterisk alongside his chiseled bust somewhere in a corner of the shrine?

Rose fans could search out his nook in some obscure and dank corner at
Cooperstown, pay homage, and that controversy would fade away. After all,
in the pre-Mark McGwire era, baseball used an asterisk to resolve the Roger
Maris/Babe Ruth home run record controversy involving how many games each
played in their record seasons.

What's basically important in the Pete Rose dilemma is the integrity
of the sport, also the importance of role models in an era when heroes literally
spit in the face of umpires and legal accommodations are made to allow players,
both college and pros, to avoid missing games because of convictions for
theft, assault and a multitude of other crimes.

Consider the record sheets of some players, especially in basketball,
the many drug convictions, and they're still playing. One basketball hero
wrote of bedding 20,000 women, and he's in the Basketball Hall of Fame in
Springfield, Mass., - though one wonders how he had the time or energy for
a game of hoops.

Winning has become what it's all about. Winners make money, and the bottom
line is money. That's what it's all about. Some blame Vince Lombardi, known
best for coaching the Green Bay Packers, but also for his saying: Winning
isn't everything, it's the only thing.

Truth is, if one looks it up, football coach Red Sanders shares credit
for that remark.

Sanders and Lombardi were winners, but the big monetary winners are the
owners of pro sports teams or the big name colleges that field perennial
championship teams. Sanders and Lombardi just wanted their teams to win;
the owners and the colleges insist on that, though with an eye to the turnstiles

Boxing's Bursting Bubble

Look at boxing, a sport in which Jack Dempsey and Joe Louis and probably
Rocky Marciano, Gene Tunney and a host of others could make mincemeat of
Mike Tyson as quick as Pete Rose could round the bases. But who's making
the money and getting all the attention? And has the only criminal record
of those mentioned.

Not-so-Marvelous Iron Mike - a convicted rapist, veteran of courts on
assault charges and a fellow who before packed boxing arenas took a big
bite out of one opponent's ear, then blatantly slugged his latest foe after
the bell - is the biggest draw in what has become not only a seedy sport
but also an endangered one.

Yet he's a hero to many and brings in the money, so boxing will always
find a place for him to make more millions for himself and, of course, for
the promoters. Why, he made $8.7 million for the one round against unknown
Orlin Norris (whose paycheck was only $201,000) in Las Vegas last month
- though the purse was held up for a few days to let the ire of the minority
fair-fight fans cool off.

Thugs of his ilk pretty much dominate the contemporary World of Boxing,
which is obviously on its way out. So, one day - hopefully not too far distant
- boxing will be a long gone sport like tossing people to the lions.

Unless the other sports clean up their acts, one day the bubble will
burst for them as well. There aren't enough suckers born every minute to
pay the inflated freight. Enough said.